🇨🇷 Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Latvia, Malawi, Panama, El Salvador, Venezuela, Samoa
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers, motherhood, and the influence mothers have on families and society. Countries mark it on different dates through the year, and in Malawi it falls on 15 October as a public holiday.
In Malawi, Mother's Day is a public holiday observed on 15 October, giving families a day away from work and school to honor the mothers and mother figures in their lives. Dates differ widely elsewhere: most countries choose March or May, while some choose other days of the year. Panama, for example, marks it on 8 December and Georgia on 3 March. The day is usually spent with family, and children and adults alike use it to show appreciation for the women who raised them.
Honoring mothers is an old impulse, with traditions stretching back to the ancient worship of mother goddesses such as Cybele and Rhea and the Roman festival of Hilaria. The modern holiday, however, grew from separate roots in the United States. Anna Jarvis held the first Mother's Day service in 1908 at a church in Grafton, West Virginia, inspired by her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, a peace activist who organized clubs to improve community health. Her campaign led to a national proclamation in 1914, and the idea has since spread to many countries, each shaping it around local custom.
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